-
""

Auditor independence

In order to safeguard KPMG's (the Auditor) independence and objectivity, Barclays has in place a Group policy on the Provision of Services by the Group Statutory Auditor (the Policy) setting out the circumstances in which the auditor may be engaged to provide services other than those covered by the Group audit. 

The Policy applies to all Barclays’ subsidiaries and other material entities over which Barclays has significant influence. The core principle of the Policy is that non-audit services (other than those legally required to be carried out by the Group’s auditor) should be performed by the Auditor only in certain controlled circumstances. The Policy sets out those types of services that are permitted (Permitted services).

The Policy is reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that it is fit for purpose and that it reflects applicable rules and guidelines. The Policy is aligned with both the FRC’s requirements and KPMG’s own internal policy on non-audit services for FTSE 350 companies which broadly restricts non-audit work to services that are ‘closely related’ to the audit. During 2021, the Board Audit Committee (the Committee) reviewed and approved the Policy in its current form on the basis it continued to reflect current applicable rules and guidelines and met the needs of the business. Any changes to the Policy are required to be approved at a Group level by the Committee. This is in accordance with laws applicable in the UK and FRC guidance, pursuant to which audit committees of Public Interest Entities (such as Barclays) are required to approve non-audit services provided by their auditors to such entities; and subsidiary Public Interest Entities in the UK – such as BBUKPLC and BBPLC – can rely on the approval of non-audit services by the ultimate parent’s Board Audit Committee. Pursuant to the Policy, audit services and the fee cap are monitored by the relevant Board Audit Committee, as appropriate.

Under the Policy, except for specific categories of Permitted services that require explicit Committee approval, the Committee has pre-approved all Permitted services for which fees are less than £100,000. However, all proposed work, regardless of the amount of the fees, must be sponsored by a senior executive and recorded on a centralised online system, with a detailed explanation of the clear commercial benefit arising from engaging the auditor over other potential service providers. The lead audit engagement partner must also confirm that the engagement has been approved in accordance with the auditor’s own internal ethical standards and does not pose any threat to the auditor’s independence or objectivity. All requests to engage the auditor are assessed by independent management (who are not involved in any work to which the proposed engagement relates) before work can commence. Requests for Permitted service types in respect of which the fees are expected to meet or exceed the above threshold but expected to be less than £250,000 must be approved by the Chair of the Committee (or an appropriate alternate) before work is permitted to begin. Services where the fees are expected to be £250,000 or higher must be approved by the Committee as a whole. All expenses and disbursements must be included in the fees calculation.

During 2021, all engagements for which expected fees met or exceeded the above thresholds were evaluated by either the Committee Chair or the Committee members as a whole, who, before confirming any approval, assured themselves that there was justifiable reason for engaging the auditor and that its independence and objectivity would not be threatened. No requests to use KPMG were declined by the Committee in 2021 (2020: none). On a quarterly basis, the Committee scrutinised details of individually approved and pre-approved services undertaken by KPMG in order to satisfy itself that they posed no risk to independence, either in isolation or on an aggregated basis. For the purposes of the Policy, the Committee has determined that any pre-approved service of a value of under £50,000 is to be regarded as trivial in terms of its impact on Barclays' financial statements and has required the Group Financial Controller to specifically review and confirm to the Committee that any pre-approved service with a value of between £50,000 and £100,000 may be regarded as such. The Committee undertook a review of pre-approved services at its meeting in December 2021.